The vibration Swen created to shatter the serpent's rattle did more than break its defense.
The sound sank into the mountain.
It traveled through veins of stone, climbing layer by layer… until it reached the ancient cavern at the summit — a place untouched for centuries.
There, a being had been sleeping for a thousand years.
The moment the vibration echoed through the cavern walls, that massive body stirred for the first time.
Then, the silence of a millennium was torn apart by a heavy breath.
The ancient being inhaled.
It was long, deep… almost cautious.
Even with its eyes still closed, a faint whisper slipped from its lips.
"Clean…"
"So the curse has finally faded."
Slowly, it opened its eyes.
Those irises — a fusion of gold and crimson — illuminated the entire cavern.
As the colossal body rose, fragments of stone fell from its shoulders, dust sliding off its back and scattering across the ground.
Every scale shone as if carved from sunlight itself.
For the first time in a thousand years…
a dragon had awakened.
Reaching the mouth of the cave, it drew in the outside air.
The suffocating mist of the Void had thinned.
That rotten, decayed stench had mostly vanished.
For a brief moment, relief flickered in the dragon's eyes.
Then it spread its wings.
Its enormous body surged into the sky; with a single flap, the layers of mist around the mountain were blown apart.
As it glided above the clouds, the first thing it felt was… a familiar aura.
It was coming from the base of the mountain.
That presence…
felt like the breath of its own kind.
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
"Another dragon?"
There was more curiosity than shock in its voice.
But as it drew closer to that aura, a second presence became clearer.
Cold.
Foul.
Ominous.
An energy disturbingly similar to the curse that had once poisoned the skies a thousand years ago…
The expression on the dragon's face changed.
Curiosity hardened into tension.
"So… it's not over."
In an instant, it changed direction.
With a powerful beat of its wings, it dove toward the source of that sinister presence.
At the foot of the mountain, Shinju, Koharu, and Swen stood beside the serpent's corpse.
Swen carefully sealed the venom sac and let out a breath.
"Alright. The venom sac's intact. We're done here."
The moment those words left his mouth—
the sky darkened.
A roar tore through the valley, shaking every stone.
Rocks shifted.
The air suddenly grew heavy.
Shinju looked up. His eyes narrowed.
On the horizon, a massive creature spread its wings to their full extent as it descended.
Its golden scales caught the dim light of the sky, blazing like fire.
For the first time, Shinju's voice carried genuine shock.
"What… is that?"
"I've never seen anything like it."
Swen froze.
The usual mockery on his face vanished completely.
"This… is impossible."
"A fully grown Yang creature… how can something like that exist in this world?"
Koharu's gaze locked onto the sky.
Her voice trembled — but remained steady.
"No… this isn't just a creature."
"It's a dragon."
After a brief pause, she added in a whisper:
"One of the calamities spoken of in legends…"
Shinju said nothing.
But his right eye darkened slightly.
Because in that moment…
he realized something.
The dragon was looking directly at them.
And worse—
it was coming straight for them.
As the sky split with golden light, the three of them instinctively took their stances.
No one spoke.
Because the same thought had crossed all of their minds:
What Swen had awakened… was no ordinary monster.
It was an ancient dragon that had just risen from a thousand-year slumber.
And at first glance—
it had already judged them as enemies.